Empathy
by Chisana Kuroi Ryu
Summary: Keiko is angry that not once has Hiei apologized for kidnapping her. She ends up running into an old woman that gives her a powder that will make him remorseful. However it is actually a curse that makes Hiei an empath. Now they must cure Hiei before they loose him forever; something Kurama is not willing to let happen. ((A K/H yaoi.))


******-Warnings: This is a Kurama/Hiei fiction.-**

******-Disclaimer: I do not own YYH or any of the perspective characters from the show. All other characters that appear in the story, however, are my own.**

******-Summary: Keiko is angry over the fact that not once has Hiei apologized for the time that he kidnapped. She ends up running into an old woman that gives her a powder that she claims will make him remorseful. However when she uses it, she finds out that it is actually a curse that makes Hiei an empath. It soon becomes apparent that the woman that gave Keiko the powder is actually working for a demon that is after Hiei. Now they must cure Hiei before they loose him forever; something Kurama is not willing to let happen.-**

******A/N: I originally started this as a DBZ fic, but given that it had been outlined as a YYH story and so I had to re-do it as YYH. It just fit better and will be a part of a series I plan on dubbing "The Stolen Artifacts" series. So enjoy!**

**Empathy**

**Chapter One: Cursed**

A set of dark eyes watched the group from under the lashes of a narrowed gaze. There was no hate in the intense stare as they burned across the small clearing in the park, only disappointment. It was the sort of look a teacher gives a straight-A student that just failed a test. It was an inability to understand just what was going on or what had happened; even more so how no one else seemed to want to address the major elephant in the room. Or in this case in the park.

And that elephant's name was Hiei, the Forbidden Child.

Sensui had finally been put down for good and Earth was back to the way it had been before the danger had struck. The small group of fighters had been able to get everything back to normal and life went on as if nothing had ever changed, just like it did after every demonic danger's chaos was blown away. So the only thing that was left to do was to celebrate the victory that only they knew existed. This time they had decided to enjoy the fresh air they had helped save once again by having a picnic in the park. Most of the group was happily devouring the party goods from the lunches that had been packed and no one seemed to notice that one person was keeping a distance from the festivities. One person, however, could not stop glaring at the odd ball out.

Keiko's dark glare was locked on the short frame of Hiei from where she sat on a picnic blanket. A strange rage was simmering just beneath the surface, boiling through her blood stream and nearly causing her to gnash her teeth together in an attempt to keep herself in check. Hiei seemed so easily aloof from the rest, as though he were too good to be caught dining with humans. It did not matter to her in the slightest that he had been willing to give his life to try and stop the latest threat, or that he had nearly gave up his eternal soul by nearly taking human life to save Yusuke. Most of the others in their small group had been able to put off some of their more hostile feelings towards the cold warrior, but Keiko had never been one to keep her anger under control.

As far as she was concerned, Hiei was the source of all their problems. He was the reason Yusuke was always risking his life and running away. It was his fault that Yusuke was always fighting more demons. Worst of all, it was Hiei's fault that Yusuke had been pushed to a point where he found out he was not entirely human. All the blame for her issues with her boyfriend and life rested fully on that man's shoulders.

Which was all something the woman may have been able to take in stride had Hieieven once shown an ounce of remorse for all the wrong doings he'd committed or for any of the pain he had rained down on them. The man never apologized though, never seemed sorry in the slightest. In fact, each time something happened he simply seemed to become more arrogant. Granted she never actually had ring side seats to the fights (aside from the tournament in which she spent most of Yusuke's final fight in a catatonic state) but she heard enough stories from the others to piece together what she assumed happened. Yusuke put his life on the line and fought and then Hiei would rush in all verbal barbs and screw things up that her boyfriend would have to piece back together again. And worst of all, he had never even apologized for his first trip to the human world where he had kidnapped her in an attempt to turn her into a slave so that he could kill Yusuke and take over the human race.

Keiko could not help the angry huff that left her as the source of her disdain placed an empty plate of ribs to the side and stretched out beneath a tree preparing for a nap in the shade. For some reason seeing the careless motions of the other brought a red haze up to film over her vision. It had gone on long enough. That...that _thing_ owed them all a huge apology and she would not let him haughtily disregard them all again.

She pushed quickly to her feet, earning her a few odd stares from Yukina, Kurama, and Shizuru who apparently had been trying to carry on a conversation with her. It was not as though she heard any of it though through her mental rantings. She was too preoccupied with getting what she wanted at the moment, and Keiko always got what she wanted no matter whose ear she had to tweak raw to do so.

"Uh, Keiko?" Kurama asked slowly as the his emerald gaze easily followed his friend's line of sight to that of Hiei's sleeping form. "You sure its a good idea to go bug Hiei? You think he's got a nasty attitude normally, see what happens when you wake him up from a food coma."

Keiko only brushed aside her friend's warning as well as the nervous glances from the two male fighters. Right now all she was concerned with was getting an apology and there was not a thing that would stop her, not even the idea that the other might simply kill her up for disturbing him. Her boots stomped the ground roughly as she reached the sleeping demon, planting her feet, crossing her arms over her chest, and squaring off her shoulders in preparation of the on coming battle. The rest of the group seemed to hold their breath as they waited for the explosion.

It did not come. Keiko continued to stand looming over the sleeping demon, one finger tapping against her forearm in impatience, however, Hiei just continued to doze. The only sign that the man was even aware of the presence of the angry woman was the slight lowering pinch of his brows. After a few moments her toe began in the light tapping, none of this helping the anger she was feeling at the moment get any better. Goku and Gohan were starting to push up to their feet in an attempt to pull the woman back when they noticed that the corner of Hiei's mouth was starting to twitch in annoyance. Everyone knew that Keiko had a problem recognizing when she was putting herself in life threatening situations, proven by all the demon's she'd pissed of during the Dark Tournament. And seeing the twitch of Hiei's eyebrows let everyone know she was quickly approaching that level of danger again. Yet even as they began to move the chance to save her was shattered.

"What in the hell do you want, girl?" Hiei suddenly ground out, one sharp crimson eye slipping open to turn to look up at her.. He regarded her for a moment before letting his eye slip shut again. "Either start your shrieking or move on. You're blocking my shade."

Shizuru pressed a hand to her forehead to hide her mystified expression as Yukina reached out to grip at Kurama's upper arm tightly. Both Yusuke and Kurama were ready to leap in to save the brash female should they need to while Kuwabara and Botan sat a few feet off to the side trying to figure what exactly was going on that had everyone on edge. Though now it was far too late to go back and pretend none of this had happened, especially at what was said next.

"Apologize." The woman demanded with a stomp of her foot.

The collectively held breath rushed out in exasperation and even Yusuke could only stare blankly at the girl. He had been there when she had threatened other demons at the tournament which proved she had no idea who you could and could not threaten. Even though Hiei had seemingly assimilated himself to a life in and protecting the human world it was always a thought in the back of the group's mind that if pushed hard enough he would fry one of them. It seemed that Keiko would be the first on that new list.

As expected both of Hiei's eyes snapped open this time, the dark glare turning on the woman. His brows furrowed as that trademark scowl tugged down on the corners of his lips. It was strange how such an angry expression seemed almost right on the man's face, how it made him more handsome. It also brought to light the fact that he was volatile and that trying to push him over the edge of his comfort zone was a dangerous idea.

"Would you care to elaborate on that foolish idea, girl?" He snarled out in a low voice, his own arms moving to cross over his chest in blatant one up with her.

"I would!" Keiko shouted back, her foot stomping down again as she felt the anger starting to fill her again. "And I have a name, as does Botan and Shizuru! You should remember them and stop just calling us woman, its degrading!"

Shizuru muttered something behind them about dragging her into this and the rest could not blame her. No one wanted to be the third party in a fight between Keiko and Hiei. A short snorting sound left Hiei.

"Fine then, Harpy." The demon scoffed."Are you going to tell me what you want or are you just going to shriek at me about trivial things?"

His attitude was relaxing the others though. Hiei did not seem to be taking this confrontation seriously, or at least not serious enough to evoke any true anger in him. In truth he seemed more amused by the woman's attempts to stand up to him, even if he did not know what she was standing for yet.

"Don't call me that either!" Keiko was now roaring, but it seemed she was ready to move on from that subject knowing it was not the point of her movement. "I said I wanted you to apologize. That can't be a hard concept for someone as smart as you to grasp."

A low sigh left Hiei as it seemed that all his amusement at the situation was now gone. He let his eyes closed as he interlocked his fingers behind his head and settled back against the tree to get more comfortable. He figured the action would be enough of a sign to Keiko that she had been dismissed but he could still sense her looming. His amusement was starting to fade with this little show and he just wanted the she-witch to go away so he could stretch out and enjoy a nap in the sun. There seemed to be only one way to get rid of her now.

"No."

Keiko could only blink at the one word, on syllable response from the shorter man. No part of her was sure what to make of the answer she was given. No? That was it? She had been expecting more words from the man, more of a speech on how great he was and how he did not need to apologize to the likes of them. A simple group of humans. She had been hoping for it thinking it was the only thing that would keep her angry enough to keep demanding what she wanted.

She was wrong. His brush off was far worse. It was as though he did not even care about her enough to give her the time of day for a full conversation. Her eyes narrowed sharply on his sleeping form that she was now peering at through a haze of red. The next move she made was by no means smart, but intelligent was beyond her at this point. Lifting a foot, she planted it on the demon's dozing shoulder and kicked out, shoving the man's small frame over and eliciting a startled grunt from him. The rest of the group suck in a breath as Hiei lunged to his feet, any humor he had seen in this encounter now gone.

"What the hell is your problem, you wretched hag!" He snarled.

"You will listen to me!" Keiko nearly roared back, jamming a finger into Hiei's face and making the shorter man go cross eyed for a moment. "You are arrogant and self entitled and I will have none of it! You need to learn to show a little understanding and compassion!"

Hiei blinked trying to focus on the tip of Keiko's finger before shaking his head and taking a step back. He continued to scowl at her, lips now curling into a snarl. At first it had been fun to see the harpy get worked up over whatever had gotten her goat this time but her audacity now was annoying. Not to mention he had no clue what she was raging on about.

"What are you on about?" He hissed. "I was only napping. You were the one that came over and started shoving me and yelling at me. I think that you are the one that should be checking your attitude and giving _me _the apology!"

Keiko scoffed, almost reeling back away from him. She did not owe him any such thing. What she did was simply a tactic to force him to pay attention to something other then what he wanted. It was as if he did not care about anything unless it directly affected him so she made sure it affected him.

"I do not." She snapped back. "You owe at the least owe me one for that time you kidnapped me and tried to turn me into a slave. You even tried to kill Yusuke and ended up stabbing Kurama! And you never once said that you were sorry for it! "

The group that had remained silent for some time suddenly blinked slowly as if syncing up with Keiko's thoughts. She had a point in some perverse way. Hiei had shown up in their life in a whirlwind of death and hate and had never exhibited remorse for it. In fact, he seemed to revel in the fact that one day he would defeat Yusuke. While they mostly knew that it was more of a boast then a fact he would actually commit, his recent refusal to help go after Sensui at first had implanted a seed of doubt. Maybe the demon would end the Spirit Detective if he had a chance.

The man in question was still scowling darkly at the woman as he tried to think about what was being said. He was having a hard time wrapping his mind around what Keiko was asking of him. Apologize for something that was done years ago? It was beyond Hiei's mind how another with demon blood could stand to constantly be in the presence of this harpy. Even female demons knew to respect those stronger then them.

"I will do no such thing, you intolerable wench." He hissed back at her. "For one, I did not kill Yusuke, as much as I loath to admit. Nor did I mean to stab Kurama, he jumped in front of my sword. And as for kidnapping you, it was a means to end and I sill not apology for your weakness."

"That's not the point!" Keiko was not about to let this go. Not without her admission of remorse. "And Kurama did what he did in order to help us. And I did nothing to you! Aren't you at all sorry for what you did when we first met you? Can't you even apologize for the pain and torture your desires put us through back then? You were no better then every other creature that has threatened our world since then and yet you don't feel even the least bit guilty about it?"

"No!" Hiei roared back, shocking the whole gathering into awed silence. "Why should I feel guilty? Regret and remorse are emotions for the weak. I did what I wanted to do and I am not sorry that and never will be sorry for it. So leave me alone and prattle on to one of your human friends for guilt. I do not apologize."

With those words Hiei stalked around to the other side of the tree and threw himself down against the base of tree trunk. His hands tucked back behind his head as his eyes slipped closed. It was his signal that he was done with the conversation. Keiko let out an indignant huff and was about to open her mouth to say more when a hand on her shoulder stopped her. Angry eyes snapped around to settle of the worry creased face of Kurama.

"You should leave him alone right now." He whispered, shaking his head slowly.

Keiko's mouth opened and closed slowly as she tried to form a rebuttal to this. It was like he did not care in the least about his own multiple brushes with death and the mass amounts of human kind that they'd had to save. A good amount of time because of the stuck up little freeloader that Kurama, for some reason, put up with. So all she could manage was a short huff as she turned away from the source of her frustrations and stormed off and away from the group.

She needed to calm down and she knew if she stayed any where near Hiei or the people that, for some reason, considered him a friend. If she was forced to do that she would not calm down at all. How could the demon not feel any remorse for all the bad things he had done in his time? He had friends now and a sister and had risked his life to protecting this world on numerous occasions. So how was it that he could not feel even a hint of regret at the idea that he at one point had wanted destroy the world he now called home? Filthy demon beast. For the first time in her life she was glad that her boyfriend was the wandering, powerful man that he was always fighting for good since it kept him from becoming like Hiei.

With an angry roar she turned and punched the nearest thing to her, which happened to be a tree. The bark crunched beneath her knuckles. She was strong but had no where near the power of her boyfriend and his friends. Still, punch did help her feel somewhat better as she huffed out an annoyed breath.

"Something bothering you, my dear?"

The raspy voice caused Keiko to jump in shock. She had figured that her dramatic storm off had taken her in a direction away from human population. Brown eyes turned and landed on the hunched over form of an old woman. A set of cataract glazed eyes peered back in her direction from amidst the folds of wrinkled flesh, all framed by long stringy tresses of silver hair. Keiko laid a hand over her pounding heart as she blinked almost dumbly at the crone that had appeared from nowhere.

"Sorry to frighten you, dear." The woman's dry lips pulled up in a cracked smile as a wheezing sound left her that Keiko assumed was a laugh. "My vision may be failing me, but I can hear more then most can see and you are screaming frustration into the world. If you wish to let it all out my ears are willing to lend their talents."

Keiko paused as she seemed to think over the stranger's offer. It would certainly be nice to speak to someone whose opinion was not tainted by the knowledge of the few goods Hiei had done or the true dangers the world had faced over and over again. Where could the harm in venting to a stranger she would never see again be?

"I'm just upset with someone. I suppose in a way you could call him a friend." She murmured, crossing her arms over her chest. "He wasn't the nicest guy when we met and he did some horrible things. He still does some pretty awful things. Its like he doesn't care what anyone else thinks or feels. All I did was ask him to apologize for the bad things he did and he refused. He acted like I was the one out of line and said he wasn't at all sorry for what he did!"

The old woman hummed to herself and clicked her tongue against the back of her front teeth. Keiko took that to be a good sign and that someone finally understood what was bother her and it fueled her need to pour out more. She did not even notice that the old woman had begun rustling through the bag at her hip like a rodent through a garbage can.

"Is it really that hard to stop and just think about how the person next to you feels?" She ranted on. "I just want that over inflated grump to admit that what he did was wrong, to realize how the rest of us feel?"

The old woman stopped her purse digging and turned not to face Keiko. She held up and arm and in it was a small round tin. Keiko's head tilted to one side in confusion and for a moment she wonder if the old woman might actually be crazy and had stopped listening to her half way through the speech. Not that it would really matter. It had felt good just to get that much out to someone that was not scoffing at her or pleading with her to just let it go.

"You wish for this man to know the true feelings of others?" The woman asked in a cryptic tone that simply left Keiko nodding. The small tin was shoved in her face once more. "Then you take this. Go up to this man and toss the powder in his face. Then speak these words to him, '_Kufungua mawazo yako kwa mioyo yao'_. Do this and you will get your wish and this man will understand to appreciate the feelings of others."

Keiko plucked the small tin from the out stretched palm. She lifted the top and looked down at the shining white powder that rested inside. There was not much of it but it had an odd luminance to it, like some one had ground up a small pearl. Was it possible that this thimble out of dust could do the one thing that years of yelling, begging, and even the threat of death and eternity and hell could not? It was an almost insane thought, but what was crazy was the fact that Keiko wanted to turn and rush back to the group and test it. The idea of actually getting an apology from that egotistical demon was just too tempting. The old woman chuckled and waved a hand towards the younger female in gesture for her to take her leave.

"Go, go child." She rasped out. "Its not every day you get the chance to open the heart and mind of another. Do not worry about keeping an old woman company when there are more important things afoot."

Keiko turned to start running back towards the camp but then stopped short. Where were her manners? She spun back around to thank the strange old woman for the gift. Yet the spot the ragged person had just been occupying was now empty. It was almost unsettling how quickly and silently the elderly had managed to vanish. Oh well, it was no time to dwell on such things.

Her booted feet stomped the ground as she barreled back into the camp and past the wide, shocked gazes of her friends. Just as she had expected, Hiei was still perched in his last place against the tree. It was as if he had not moved an inch. Which was very likely. Squaring off her shoulders she started to stomp towards the sleeping de,pm. Just as she was about to reach him, a strong hand curled around her arm and pulled her to a stop. Her gaze snapped towards the owner of the hand to land on her boyfriend's concerned face.

"Keiko, I thought we were going to leave it alone." He whispered, a strange sort of urgency in his voice. It was almost as if he were afraid of her being near the shorter man.

"Enough of this tip-toeing around him!" She snapped, yanking her arm out of Yusuke's grasp and continued on her march to stand right in front of the napping demon. She waited for a few moments in silence again while waiting for him to respond as she knew he would. It was strange how the man could always tell exactly who was near him with out looking.

As expected, one sharp crimson eye rolled open to glare at her. The orb ran over her frame slowly before the other lid rose to settle an annoyed gaze on her. Hiei made no move to stand or even to speak, just simply scowled at her as if waiting for her to give a reason for bothering him once again. When he did not get one an annoyed huff left him.

"What it is now, woman?" He muttered out between clenched teeth. "If you wish to rant about apologies again then you are wasting my time and your breath."

Keiko grit her teeth and decided that she had to do what had to be done. She lifted the small tin and popped off the top. This action did seem to catch Hiei's attention as he sat up a bit straighter and raised a dark brow in question. She cast a glance down at the glowing powder wondering once more if it would do what the old woman thought and wondered if it was a good idea to do this. A part of her had a moments worry over what an emotional Hiei might be like. But at the angry huff of air that left Hiei the worries were gone and she knew what she had to do. With out any warning, she gripped the tin and tilted her hand down and tossed the contents in the man's face.

Hiei jerked as the powder hit his face in a gritty cloud. He pulled back as the tiny grains burned at his eyes, his back hitting the trunk of the tree with a loud thump. His lungs burned and his eyes stung as he began coughing sharply. Bandaged hands came up and scrubbed at his lids in a desperate fury to relieve the uncomfortable feeling.

"What in the hell was that, you inconceivable wench?" He gasped, trying to stagger to his feet in the hope of finding some sort of liquid to quench the horrid burning feeling of his face. "You have lost whatever small amount of a mind you had!"

Keiko snarled at the insult as she tried to think over the words that old woman had told her to speak after using the powder. She was hardly aware that the rest of the group had made it to their feet and were rushing over to the scene in a confused and worried flock. All that mattered was that she complete this ritual and get what she wanted from Hiei once and for all. The words filtered back into her memory and she snapped a finger.

"_Kufungua mawazo yako kwa mioyo yao_!" She shouted out, before stepping back to watch what happened next.

Kurama paused at the words. His eyes suddenly went wide. Those words, that chant, it has seemed so familiar and now he knew what it was from. This situation was about to get very bad and he was not even sure in what way. All he knew was that it was going to be bad for Hiei.

The reaction started just as Kurama reached the distressed demon's side. He reached up to try and pull the wrapped hands away from the watering eyes so that he could pour the bottle of water he had over the red puffed face. Hiei was trying to fight out of his grasp when the first tingles trickled down his spine. It was a strange feeling, like someone was running their fingers down his spine. Not painful, but it was unusually uncomfortable. The tingle pushed up, now starting to buzz in the back of his skull. It was starting to build up with a pressure waiting to burst.

His breathe became more ragged as he suddenly found himself having difficulty breathing. One hand moved to press flat against his chest as he drew in a choking breathe. The mounting pressure in his head finally gave way and with it rushed out a flood of emotions. Anger, shock, confusion, fear, worry, happiness, excitement, sadness, and some that he did not and could not recognize or filter. They poured into his skull, filling it quickly and making him feel as though his head would burst out. His breathe caught in his throat as the overwhelming wave of emotions tore at him, ripping through his nerve endings and leaving them exposed, raw and aching.

Both of the his hands lifted towards his head, fingers curling into the spiked locks of ebony. Hiei tugged at them, gasping as his knees buckled and he slumped down to the ground. He could not figure out how to stop the thoughts and feelings that were assaulting him. One moment he was shocked at what was happening to him and the next he was glad that it was, as though he deserved this. They sliced through his brain, leaving searing wounds in their wake. He gagged slightly on another breath before he was able to pull enough air into his lungs to let out an agonized scream. His fingers continued to rake at the sides of his head hard enough to draw blood, joining in the strange trickles of crimson that appeared to be leaking from his jagan.

The others were in shock, even Keiko found herself speechless. She had not expected this to happen. Tears maybe, but tears of regret not ones of what appeared to be body numbing pain. She started to take a step forward when a large body forced its self between the demon who was now a convulsing heap on the ground and herself. The flash of red told her it was Kurama long before she heard the strange growl that rumbled out of him.

"K-Kurama?" She rasped out as the normally friendly man knelt beside his fallen friend and leaned over him.

Kurama continued to ignore her. His main concern at the moment was trying to help Hiei through whatever it was that was happening to him. He was not sure what Keiko had done but she would have to answer for it later. A shaky hand moved to grip the shorter man's shoulder and pin it down, trying to stop the writhing long enough to as a question.

"Hiei, what's wrong?" He whispered, moving to pin down the other shoulder. "What did she do?"

Bandaged hands suddenly snapped up, wrapping around Kurama's wrist in such a tight grip that the other demon could not help but flinch. He wanted to jerked back in pure reaction, but the panicked and pained ruby gaze that landed on his face froze him in his place. Even when Hiei had seed Yusuke die his eyes had not held the level of frightened desperation they did now. Kurama's stomach twisted up in a nervous way.

"T-too much..." Hiei gasped out, back arching up of the ground as another scream burst past his lips, more blood oozing out from beneath the white band that covered his third eye. "Head...head f-full. Go-going to ex..explo..."

Before he could finish the sentence Kurama pressed a hand to Hiei's forehead, pinching against the temples with his thumb and index finger as a soft white glow formed at the tips. Hiei bucked again beneath the others hold before falling still, a slow breath easing out of him. When Kurama removed his hand they saw that Hiei's eyes were closed and his breathing was finally slow and steady.

"What did you do?" Yusuke asked softly as he turned wide, confused eyes on his friend.

"We need to get Hiei to my home now." The fox spoke in his strained voice, ignoring his friend's frantic question. "We have to be quick though, we will want to get this done before Hiei wakes up."

Yusuke nodded as Kurama leaned down and scooped the unconscious demon up into his arms. He glanced over his shoulders to make sure that the others were following when a hand on his forearm stopped the process. He opened his eyes to peer up at the sad face of his Keiko.

"I...I'm sorry." She whispered. "I had no idea that was what it would do."

Kurama only stared back at her for a few moments. He was not sure how to respond to her apology yet. A part of him knew that she was sincere but he was not ready to accept it until he knew what was going on and if Hiei would be okay. His gaze swept over the sleeping face of the demon as a slow breathe left him.

No, he was not ready to accept the apology yet.

Kurama shrugged her hand off his arm with a blank expression on his features. He could see the hurt burning in her eyes but he figured she deserved it for a bit. Her temper and control issues had gone too far this time. A little time beating herself up over her own actions rather then judging everyone else' would do her good. He turned quickly to head towards the cars and left the rest to follow him in eerie silence.

**-I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Review and let me know what you think. And no, this is not a bash Keiko type story. It was just a starting point.-**


End file.
